Bodies
by McAbbyAddict
Summary: The team is called in to investigate a case in an unusual setting. When they have to work with another agency, things get even more interesting. But more surprises are just around the corner...  Warning- first chapter is kinda slow, please bear with me.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: As promised, here's the first chapter of my newest story. This one was inspired by a strange conversation at work- we have a large garbage compactor out the back of our store, and sometimes it gets a little smelly. We were joking that maybe someone had stashed a body in it, and this is the result. Thanks goes to my workmates for this one! You know who you are :)**

**I'm trying another one from McGee's point of view- hopefully I can keep it up.**** F.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they're property of Belisarius Productions.  
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It had been a boring week. We hadn't had a case yet; as I walked into the bullpen and stowed my gear, I hoped we'd get one today. Gibbs had spent most of the last two days holed up in MTAC with the Director, leaving us with the old standby of cold cases. Tony in particular wasn't handling the boredom well; the rubber band war he'd started yesterday had gotten us all in trouble, and I didn't really want a repeat.

I was the first one in for a change, though it wasn't long before Ziva arrived, and by the time Gibbs came back from his usual morning coffee run we were all seated at our desks. I wasn't the only one watching him anxiously as he entered the bullpen.

"Grab your gear" he said, a faintly amused glint in his eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief. We hopefully wouldn't have to deal with Tony's constant pranks, at least for today. We picked up our packs as ordered, following Gibbs to the elevator. As the doors closed, Tony commented "Yeah, a new case. I hate working the cold cases."

"See if you still feel that way when we get there, DiNozzo." There was definitely amusement in the Boss's voice this time. That made me faintly uneasy; generally if Gibbs was amused, we weren't going to be.

...

The stench was indescribable. It wasn't the body; after 3 years on Gibbs' team, I was at least mostly used to the sight and smell of dead bodies in their many and varied forms. It was the surroundings that stank.

A tractor trailer had jack-knifed and rolled, spilling its load- a large trash compactor- onto the highway. The impact with the tarmac had split the compactor along its length, revealing our dead body- a Navy lieutenant- half-buried in a load of decaying food.

"That has to be the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

I had to agree with Tony. On top of the smell of rotting food, the acrid stink of leaking diesel made this one stomach-churning crime scene. I could see now why Gibbs was amused.

"What a mess! The highway is going to be closed for hours." Ducky's voice came from behind me; I turned to see him hurrying towards the dead body, Palmer trailing behind him. Palmer looked unusually pale; I suspected he was trying to avoid throwing up. I set the camera and started taking photos of the scene as Ducky and Gibbs discussed the time of death. Having checked over the body and worked out his time of death to between 12 to 14 hours previously, Ducky dispatched Palmer back to the ME van to get the gurney. He gave me a sickly smile as he passed; for once I envied him his job. He wasn't going to be stuck here for hours processing a crime scene that was literally a load of garbage. After consulting with Ducky, Gibbs stood ad looked around.

"Ziva; take the driver's statement. DiNozzo, sketch and shoot. McGee; bag and tag." Resignedly I handed the camera over to Tony; bagging and tagging all of this was going to be messy and time consuming. I started with the area immediately around where the dead lieutenant had been lying, but I knew I'd have to search the whole load due to the way the compactor had rolled off the trailer; crucial evidence could have ended up anywhere. One thing was for certain; Abby wasn't going to enjoy having to process this.

Soon Ziva made her way back to where we were working.

"Gibbs. The driver says he picked up the compactor at Fort McNair at around 0600. It's a regular weekly pickup from behind the Officer's Mess. He never saw or heard anything unusual."

"Fort McNair? Boss, that's"

"Army CID territory. I know, DiNozzo." Gibbs was staring off into the distance. As he recognised the blonde figure coming towards us, Tony shot me a look. We'd worked with this particular CID officer before, and the electricity between her and Gibbs had helped keep things interesting.

It was Lt. Col. Mann.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok, I know the first chapter was a little slow; I had to set the scene. Hopefully you guys like this one better. F. **

Gibbs drew the Colonel off to one side. Still, every word was audible from where we were. We tried our best to appear as though we were working while listening to their conversation

"Didn't take you long to get here." Gibbs observed.

"We received a call that there was a dead body in a trash compactor that came off one of our bases" she informed him.

"Just found that out myself, Colonel."

"Mmm." She made a noncommittal noise. "Would you have called us if we hadn't already heard?"

I had to hand it to the Colonel; Gibbs wasn't an easy man to read, but she was as shrewd as he was.

He stayed quiet, silently answering her question.

"I thought not" she said dryly.

"This is our case" Gibbs told her flatly. Most other people would back down at that tone in Gibbs' voice; there were very few people that I'd ever seen argue with him over turf, and win. But she seemed bent on arguing the point.

"Is it? I'm not so sure."

"That's a dead Navy lieutenant" Gibbs pointed out.

"Murdered on an army base, Agent Gibbs; that makes it CID's case."

"You don't know that for certain."

She didn't have an answer for that one. Until someone could prove that the sailor had been killed on base at McNair, the best that CID had was a case of interfering with a corpse, and she knew it. She only had one thing to offer to be able to keep track of what was going on. Tony and I exchanged another look. We were going to be working with CID on this one again, that was certain.

"How about we work together on this one?" she asked.

Gibbs shrugged. "Ok by me, Colonel."He started to turn away but she called him back

"Who's got the lead?"

"Well, we've got the body" he pointed out. She capitulated. "Fine, but I'll need copies of the autopsy report."

He nodded. "Your people can take over here" he told her.

He turned and caught us watching them. In our absorption with their conversation, we'd paused. Tensing for the inevitable head slap, I was surprised when we just got a command instead.

"DiNozzo, McGee- grab the truck."

...

It was a relief to leave the overwhelming stench of the scene and climb back into the truck for the ride to Fort McNair.

'What do you think's going on between those two, anyway?" Tony asked as we pulled away from the side of the road where we'd left the truck.

"Who, Gibbs and Colonel Mann?" I asked. Tony rolled his eyes. "Of course Gibbs and Colonel Mann, Probie."

I for one tried not to speculate on Gibbs' personal life; Tony, of course, made it a habit to speculate on everyone's private lives.

"I really don't know, Tony."

"Hmm. She's not really his type, though. Not a redhead."

"Tony, we have heard this already" Ziva sounded exasperated. "The last time we worked with CID, remember?" She paused. "I do not think it matters if something is going on between them."

"Just curious" Tony defended himself. The look she shot him reduced him to silence until we reached the Officers' Mess, for which I was thankful.

...

"Thank God Gibbs managed to off load that one; I can still smell all that garbage." DiNozzo commented as we got our kit out of the back of the truck. I considered for a moment- so could I. I realised it could only be coming from one source.

"Actually, Tony, I think that's us you can smell."

He gave me a look. "Speak for yourself, Probie."

He wasn't quick enough to duck the head slap that followed. "You both stink, DiNozzo. You coming?"

"On your six, Boss."

...

It didn't take us long to search and process the area around where the compactor normally rested; there just wasn't a large amount of evidence to find. What we found was significant, however; a spray of blood on the concrete showed us fairly clearly where the lieutenant had been attacked. DiNozzo photographed it.

"How did he die, Boss? Palmer had the body wrapped up before I saw it" Tony asked.

"Throat was cut, probably from behind."

I only heard them dimly, intent on what I'd found caught in the stack of 44-gallon drums next to the compactor cage. It was a highly polished white shoe; it looked to me like it belonged with a white Navy dress uniform, like the one our dead sailor had been wearing. "Hey Boss, I think I got something here." I called out. Gibbs quickly inspected it, nodding. "Bag it, McGee."

It was the last piece of major evidence we found in our search; finally we packed up and headed back to the Navy Yard.

...

The aroma of rotting food was just as noticeable on our trip back to Headquarters. As we unloaded the evidence we'd collected, Gibbs gave us our orders.

"DiNozzo, David, you're with me. McGee- go and help Abby." He quickly disappeared into the elevator with Tony and Ziva on his tail. Puzzled, I looked down at the single evidence crate. Abby wasn't going to need my help with this. Then another whiff of decay hit me, and I understood. Grinning ruefully, I picked up the crate and locked the truck.

...

Abby turned as I entered her lab. "Hey Timmy. What have you got for me?"She bounced over in her usual good mood, then recoiled as she got closer. "What happened to you? You stink!"

"Geez, thanks."

"Sorry, but you do; like something rotting." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. I smirked a little.

"Body in a trash compactor. Better get used to it, Abs- there'll be more evidence coming in soon."

She rolled her eyes; I could sympathise. Her usually pristine lab was going to be very smelly anytime now. She signed off on the evidence bags, then gave me an odd look as I stayed.

"Ah, Gibbs sent me to help you." I explained. I saw the look of comprehension cross her face.

"Oh!"

...

Gibbs entered the lab about half an hour later.

"Got an ID on our dead sailor yet?"

"Patience, Gibbs. I only just got the blood sample from Ducky. I'm running it now, but these things take time." Abby told him. She told him much the same thing on every case, but Gibbs wasn't known for his patience.

"Ok, so what do you have?"

"Well, I was looking at the shoe that you found at Fort McNair. There's blood spatter here, on the toe. It's about what you'd expect from someone whose throat was cut from behind. It's the same blood type as our Lieutenant's, but I'm waiting on the DNA results to be sure. I did lift a partial print from the back of the shoe."

"The Lieutenant's?"

"Nuh-uh, definitely not a match Gibbs. I'm running it through the fingerprint database now."

Just then the fingerprint computer started beeping; the words 'Positive Match' flashed up on the screen.

"That's weird; normally I never get results so quickly." She typed in the command that would bring the associated file up on the screen. The picture shocked all of us into immobility.

"Whoa." Abby's response was an understatement; I fought the bizarre urge to laugh out of sheer hysteria.

The file was Abby's.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow, this is my first post in a while. I've become a bit of an irregular poster; sorry to everyone who is trying to follow my stories. I've actually been writing a fair bit; just most of it is waiting to be beta-read. Anyway hope you enjoy this rather belated chapter. F.**

Gibbs was the first to react. He grabbed Abby's hands, turning them over, looking for something. Not finding it, he strode over and picked up the burn box, emptying it onto the floor. It took me a moment to realise what he was searching for. As it dawned on me, I joined Gibbs in his careful sorting through the contents of the burn box. What we wanted wasn't there.

"Abby, did you tear a glove?" Gibbs asked. Pale, she shook her head.

"Are you sure, Abs?" I pressed her, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

"I'm sure."

That wasn't good. A glove tear would be the easiest solution, at least for Abby. It could pull our chain of evidence into doubt, except for one thing. I looked at Gibbs. "I've been here the whole time, Boss." I was trying to let him know the answer to his next question without alarming Abby, but she was way too smart to be fooled that easily.

"Gibbs! There's no way I mishandled this evidence! You know how careful I am" she protested. It was true; for all her impulsiveness, when it came to evidence Abby was meticulous, methodical and very very careful. Which left us with a problem.

"I know, Abs" Gibbs reassured her. He turned to me. "McGee. Take Abby upstairs to the conference room. "I nodded, leading Abby out of her lab. As we reached the doorway Gibbs gave spoke again. "And stay with her, McGee."

I'd intended to stay with her unless I was ordered otherwise; one look at Abby and you could see how frightened she was. I did my best to steer her away from the more crowded areas on the main squad floor. It was fairly conspicuous when the team returned from a crime scene; I didn't want someone starting to wonder why our forensic scientist wasn't in the lab when there would plainly be evidence to process. Scuttlebutt would start soon enough. I saw Tony and Ziva watching us curiously and shrugged. Gibbs would have to explain.

...

Abby fidgeted. It was a sure sign that she was stressed and anxious. She knew as well as I did what would be going on downstairs. Every piece of evidence she'd handled from this case had to be examined, the chain of evidence traced and made sure that it was unbroken. And a new forensic scientist would have to be decided on for this case.

I kept quiet, knowing from experience that trying to get her to talk before she felt like it only resulted in an angry Abby. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that she'd had nothing to do with the death of the Lieutenant. For starters, a world class forensic scientist wouldn't leave a fingerprint behind. Secondly, Abby was one of the most tender-hearted people I'd ever met. There was no way she was a murderer.

She slumped at the table, resting her forehead on both hands. "I shouldn't have gone out there" she murmured. Worried that I'd heard her correctly, I had to know. "Abs, were you at Fort McNair last night?" I asked her as gently as I could. She nodded, the scared look in her big green eyes becoming more pronounced. "I was visiting someone. Sister Rosita's brother is stationed out there" she elaborated.

"Abby, you gotta tell Gibbs" I said. I knew Gibbs didn't believe in coincidences, but surely this had to be the worst case of bad luck.

"I didn't do this, Timmy" she whispered. I nodded. "I know, Abs."

She stood and walked around to where I was. "I'm scared, Tim." I reached out and pulled her into a hug, knowing it was the only comfort I could give her right now.

It seemed like hours later when Gibbs opened the door. "McGee" he summoned. I left the room, wondering what he wanted me to do now. What followed took me by surprise.

"I need you to take care of the forensics." I must have looked as astonished as I felt, as he gave me a more detailed explanation. "CID's forensics lab is out of action; they've been sending everything to the FBI. They're overloaded, so we're it." I was confused for a moment, knowing full well that we couldn't investigate one of our team without it looking like a cover-up. Gibbs went on "Colonel Mann will be leading the investigation."

He opened the door and went in to see Abby, leaving me standing in the hallway. My forensics was rusty; I hoped Abby still had her 'Abby's Lab for Dummies' book. And I wondered if this was how she felt when she'd had to investigate Tony.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This is the long overdue next chapter in a story that I last posted on 4 months ago. To be honest, I'd completely forgotten about this story. This chapter isn't as twisty as previous, but it seemed... important.**

**This chapter is dedicated to Gottahavemyncis, for reminding me about this story. Thank you! F.**

I went downstairs to Abby's lab, entering it with more trepidation than I usually felt. It seemed almost eerily quiet, almost sterile without her presence. I'd rarely been in here without her; it was her domain and I felt like I was trespassing.

There was a note in Palmer's handwriting on Abby's desk saying that he'd taken the evidence that the CID guys had brought in down to the evidence garage as she wasn't there; clearly, Gibbs had managed to keep things quiet. Good. While I knew Palmer and Abby were friends, I didn't have a lot of faith in his discretion. Sometimes I got the feeling that Palmer's feelings for Abby were much like my own- I really hadn't ever gotten over her, and I was pretty sure I never would-and it made me weirdly resentful of Ducky's assistant. I pushed those thoughts aside for the moment and turned to what I had to do.

First things first. I needed to find 'Abby's Lab for Dummies' before I could run any tests. While I was pretty sure I knew how to use the basic equipment, like the fingerprint scanner, I knew Abby really would kill me if I broke her beloved mass spectrometer. And, as she'd told us before, leave no forensic evidence. Unlike at the crime scene, where there was plenty of forensic evidence. Which just proved even further that there was no way it could have been Abby.

The logical place to look for the book was in her desk, so I started searching through the drawers, trying not to look too closely at the contents. I knew how annoying it was when Tony went through my desk, and I imagined Abby would feel the same way about this. I'd just put my hand on the book that I needed when I heard a voice from in front of the desk.

"Find something you like, McVoyeur?"

Fighting back the exasperated sigh- he cared about Abby too, after all- I drew the book out from under the stack of files and held it up. "Abby's lab manual" I explained. I saw the look on his face change from mild annoyance to pensive before he managed to wipe his expression back to neutral. "You got stuck with the forensics, huh?" he asked. I nodded. "Tony... I'm not sure I can do this. It's been years since I did any traditional forensics." As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Tony had a habit of turning anything he perceived as a weakness into something to taunt you with.

But this time was different. Rather than the sarcastic, smart ass reply I expected, I got half a gesture, almost like he'd gone to grip my shoulder. Weird.

"Save her, Tim."

On that, he spun and left the lab.


End file.
